Question of GRav.......

[Infojunky]

So, looking through Mercenary and I see the entry for the Hovertrack, it has a non specified lift and propulsion system.

Now, I like having a number of different options for grav and grav-vehicle like propulsion in my games.

Repulser lift drives that have a low flight ceiling, your various flavors of air cushion and ground effect vehicles and so on.

What do y'all think? 'specialy in light of the add "high-tech" weaponry.

 

[Vile]

I dunno, is it like a half-track? Air cushion at the front, tracked suspension at the rear? :lol:

 

[Infojunky]

I dunno, is it like a half-track? Air cushion at the front, tracked suspension at the rear? :lol:

Well.... Just read the description........ In the book.

 

[Pagan priest]

I dunno, is it like a half-track? Air cushion at the front, tracked suspension at the rear? :lol:

Well.... Just read the description........ In the book.

Arrg! My FLGS doesn't have it in yet. Based on various comments I have been reading, I want to see this book and now I get still more stuff like this. :x

 

[Vile]

Sorry, I'm confused. Your first post says it has a non-specified lift and propulsion system, and then you say it's in the description in the book. What are you asking your original question?

I'm waiting for the pocket edition, myself.

 

[Infojunky]

I dunno, is it like a half-track? Air cushion at the front, tracked suspension at the rear? :lol:

Well.... Just read the description........ In the book.

Arrg! My FLGS doesn't have it in yet. Based on various comments I have been reading, I want to see this book and now I get still more stuff like this. :x

Sorry, my inner Fanboy assumed you had it.... I'll go beat my self now...

The Hovertrack is a hover tank/apc thingy that uses an unspecified method to hover/move.

The question was weather you allow/add things like landspeeders and other repulsor lift craft in to your games.

 

[Vile]

The question was weather you allow/add things like landspeeders and other repulsor lift craft in to your games.

Oh, ok, I get it now. Well, normal Traveller tech allows for hovercraft, so I've used them where the TL of the world warrants. Ground effect vehicles (like the "Soviet sea monsters" of Lake Baikal) can be cool. I suppose repulsor-lift vehicles might even be Traveller tech, as repulsors existed in the CT High Guard - I wonder what the MGT version will give us in terms of weapons options?

Actually, I've often completely dumped gravitics because it's just too good - once it becomes available, a whole lot of more-or-less equally effective variant 'hover' technologies like the above become obsolete. I love variations of ducted fan VTOL craft, for example.

 

[Infojunky]

Actually, I've often completely dumped gravitics because it's just too good - once it becomes available, a whole lot of more-or-less equally effective variant 'hover' technologies like the above become obsolete. I love variations of ducted fan VTOL craft, for example.

I tend to allow cost to drive the commonness of particular types grav drives. True free flight Grav vehicles being 5 to 10 times more expensive than repulse-lift ones. This is generally manifested in differing price of the lift units them selves and their power requirements. Couple this with the cost of the control surfaces and frame required for each.

 

[Klaus Kipling]

Yup, I see the hovertrak as being something like Luke's landspeeder, rather than the snowspeeder-like full grav.

Which means the standard tank layout makes sense. I've always found it odd that the TL15 free-flying grav-tank has it's main weapon on it's roof when it is essentially an aircraft - surely the cannon would hand underneath?

It's the standard armour/speed/firepower thing. A 'hover' version of grav requires less grav modules and can carry more armour than one that can reach orbit. Or at least is cheaper.

IMO what we call a grav tank should be more like a gunship - by the time everything can fly the tank layout would surely be obsolete.

 

[Infojunky]

Yup, I see the hovertrak as being something like Luke's landspeeder, rather than the snowspeeder-like full grav.

Me too.

IMO what we call a grav tank should be more like a gunship - by the time everything can fly the tank layout would surely be obsolete.

I have visions of Shirow's grav/vtol vehicles when I consider what a grav combat vehicle should look like.

 

[collins355]

Actually, I've often completely dumped gravitics because it's just too good - once it becomes available, a whole lot of more-or-less equally effective variant 'hover' technologies like the above become obsolete. I love variations of ducted fan VTOL craft, for example.

In TNE/FFS1 ducted fans were actually very useful at mid tech levels for thrust on grav vehicles. In TNE, the grav plates only nullified mass, you had to provide a thrust agency to make your craft travel in the desired direction. The HePlar thrusters were rubbish at mid tech levels, and unavailable when grav plates first appeared. Ducted fans were the thing.

 

[Garrand]

Which means the standard tank layout makes sense. I've always found it odd that the TL15 free-flying grav-tank has it's main weapon on it's roof when it is essentially an aircraft - surely the cannon would hand underneath?

IMO what we call a grav tank should be more like a gunship - by the time everything can fly the tank layout would surely be obsolete.

Well I guess that depends on what sort of weapons they're expected to encounter. Books like The Forever War postulated beam weapons that could pretty much damage or destroy anything high flying. Thus, a free-flying grav tank in this setting would be extremely vulnerable. Thus, in such a scenario it would be advantageous for the HT to get as low to the ground as possible, to take advantage of terrain to mask itself, extra protection ("hull down" configurations) and to spoof sensors via ground clutter. I would envision it more along the lines of Renegade Legion (the high altitude grav-flight for strategic movement).

Damon.